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The Prayers of Agnes Sparrow is the story of an unusual woman, Agnes Sparrow. No longer able or willing to leave her home, where she is cared for by her long-suffering sister Griselda, Agnes has committed her life to the one thing she can do-besides eat. Agnes Sparrow prays and when Agnes prays things happen, including major miracles of the cancer, ulcer-healing variety along with various minor miracles not the least of which is the recovery of lost objects and a prize-winning pumpkin.

The rural residents of Bright's Pond are so enamored with Agnes they plan to have a sign erected on the interstate that reads, "Welcome to Bright's Pond, Home of Agnes Sparrow." This is something Agnes doesn't want and sends Griselda to fight city hall. Griselda's petitions are shot down and the sign plans press forward until a stranger comes to town looking for his miracle from Agnes. The truth of Agnes's odd motivation comes out when the town reels after a shocking event. How could Agnes allow such evil in their midst? Didn't she know? Well, the prayers of Agnes Sparrow have more to do with Agnes than God. Agnes has been praying to atone for a sin committed when she was a child. After some tense days, the townsfolk, Griselda, and Agnes decide they all need to find their way back to the true source of the miracles-God.

Publisher's Description

Welcome to Bright's Pond. Home of Agnes Sparrow!

Author Bio

Joyce Magninis the author of The Prayers of Agnes Sparrow, chosen as one of the "Top 5 Best Christian Fiction Books of 2009" by Library Journal. She's written several short fiction and personal experience articles. She co-authored the book, Linked to Someone in Pain. She has been published in such magazines as Relief Journal, Parents Express, Sunday Digest, and Highlights for Children. Joyce attended Bryn Mawr College and is a member of the Greater Philadelphia Christian Writers Fellowship. She is a frequent workshop leader at various writers conferences and womens church groups. She has three children, Rebekah, Emily, and Adam; one grandson, Lemuel Earnest; one son-in-law, Joshua, and a neurotic parakeet. Joyce leads a small fiction group called StoryCrafters. She enjoys baseball, football, cream soda, and needle arts but not elevators. She currently lives in Havertown, Pennsylvania.

Author Bio

Joyce Magnin loves stories, video games, cream soda, and the game Parcheesi, but not laundry or elevators. She is a frequent conference speaker, the mother of three amazing children, and has two grandsons and a parakeet who thinks shes a chicken.

Publisher's Weekly

Quirk abounds in this tale of two sisters, Agnes and Griselda Sparrow. The titular Agnes forswears leaving home when she tips the scale at 600 pounds, and stays put and prays. When what seem to be miracleshealings from serious illnessesoccur, the residents of the small Pennsylvania town of Brights Pond naturally attribute them to Agnes. Agness putative power attracts a stranger in need of an unstated miracle, and the plot thickens from there. To pull off such a quirky novel, the characters need to be vividly etched, the writing consistently clever and the plotting persuasive on its own terms. Magnin partly succeeds: she meets the clever quotient, but on the whole the book is uneven. Some of the explanations that account for characters decisions arent persuasive; some dark plot twists threaten to overwhelm the quirkiness; and the pacing of the first half of the book is slow. Still, Magnin will please those who like their faith fiction with a twist, even if not everything served at the towns Full Moon Cafe can be swallowed. (Sept.)Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

On the plus side, Agnes never took credit for any of the healings or miracles, instead crediting God. I thought the part about Agnes killing a boy when she was a child was too sudden and ultimately brushed over, making it pretty implausible. Also, I had a hard time getting past the stereotypical negative attributes the writer assigns to and repeatedly reinforces about Agnes. Some things you'd just rather not think about or envision, let alone be reminded of them repeatedly.

This is four part series. Part two is much better (and not that related to this first volume).

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Author/Artist Review

Author: Joyce MagninSubmitted: July 08, 2009

Tell us a little about yourself. I am the author of The Prayers of Agnes Sparrow. Mom to three great kids, two adorable grandsons and a parakeet who thinks she's a chicken. I like baseball, cream soda, needle arts but not elevators.

What was your motivation behind this project? To tell a story that was both fun and poignant.

What do you hope folks will gain from this project? Well that's between them and God. But one person did tell me that Vidalia (one of the characters) said something she needed to hear.

How were you personally impacted by working on this project? I think I was mostly impacted by the love and support of friends through the process who told me to keep going.

Anything else you'd like readers / listeners to know: The Prayers of Agnes Sparrow has received the Pulpwood Queens book club--largest in the country--seal of approval and is their bonus book selection for November, 2009